A message from Hong Kong

A spark that had been twinkling in Hong Kong since the summer suddenly burst into flame with the street protests recently. 

Some leftists turned their attentions to that aspect, and some of those in favor of democracy, too. 

However, the interest and reaction shown by the social and free world were not that marked. The only interest came from one place — the financial markets. 

Hong Kong was rising up for democracy, yet most of those discussing this democracy movement in their columns were economists. 

To understand this, we need to have a closer look at the relationship between China and democracy. The rate of financial growth in China, from a state of economic collapse in 1949, has been an amazing surprise for the world. 

Many people have interpreted this as meaning that China has abandoned the communist system and is heading directly toward capitalism. 

The fact is, however, that China has never in fact abandoned the one-party dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party. 

The regime has maintained communist repression, violence and policies of prohibition in economic, social, family and day-to-day life. As required by communism, the state grows strong but the people remain poor; workers and the people are of no value. 

The country is far removed from democracy, but there is a stability based on the despotism that dominates all communist decrees. Since what Western investors want is not democracy, but rather this deceptive stability, the level of Western investment in China is very high. The cheap workforce must also be added to that ruthless attractiveness to investors. 

Hong Kong is the life blood of this capitalist system that is flourishing in China. 

In contrast to China, Hong Kong came to have freedom of thought and ideas, democracy and a Western lifestyle. To date, communist China has not objected greatly to these freedoms and the democracy that violates its own norms. Rather than abiding by the treaty agreement with Great Britain, the reason for this is more that Hong Kong, a commercial and port region, is also the center of huge revenues. 

To put it another way, the capitalist system in China has grown and flourished with the presence of Hong Kong. 

This does not mean that China has abandoned communism and moved over to capitalism. China followed Lenin’s familiar New Economic Policy (NEP) and elected to embrace capitalism at a time when communism was in difficulties. 

That tactic was adopted as a step back policy of consolidation by communist countries in a state of economic collapse, the ultimate aim being an economically stronger communist state. 

Indeed, China had remained unexpectedly silent in the face of Hong Kong’s freedoms since 1997, but then suddenly changed its attitude. This was a sign of an economically strengthened communist state. 

The announcement by the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress regarding screening of candidates in the elections in Hong Kong in 2017 means that communist rule has come to Hong Kong. 

China is claiming rights over Hong Kong, which has been a colonial outpost of the capitalist economy since 1842, and wishes to add Hong Kong’s share of this to its own revenues. 

China has never favored the democracy enshrined in Hong Kong. It merely allowed the region time, for the sake of foreign investors, that is all. 

However, the world order is much changed. Regrettably, those countries still under the influence of outdated communist thinking have failed to grasp this. The world rejects communism, and societies do not wish to harbor the disaster of communism in their own bodies. That is why the Soviet regimes collapsed after World War II. That is why Germany was reunified. 

That is why the Arab Spring began and came to countries ruled by Marxist Ba’ath dictators. That is why Leninist terror organizations, such as the PKK, constantly fail. 

Ever since Vladimir Putin’s regime, Russia has desired Western democracy, despite all the countless obstacles, and is moving toward democracy every day. Communism has no room to live any more.

That is why young people in Hong Kong have risen up. They do not want that dark, false and frightening ideology to come to them. 

They do not want to live in a world of bans and threats, where they are turned into robots and deprived of their freedoms. They are well-aware of the scourge that will befall them. 

After the Tiananmen Square tragedy, China has not intervened in a way that would offend the eyes of the world and damage its financial stability. That is a good thing because staging protests is a democratic right and can produce results, as in the case of Hong Kong.

However, in order for these earned rights to be permanent, an effective, scientific stance against communism is required. Communism is based on false scientific pretense, yet so many communists are unaware of this fact. 

It is critical that this false ideology that rejects religion, morality, family, state and which is completely contradictory to human nature, is scientifically refuted with effective worldwide effort. 

This will be a road to salvation not only for Hong Kong, which is facing a huge threat, but also countries such as China and North Korea, which have been suffering from the same menace for years now. 

Chinese people also need to be saved from censorship, pressure and totalitarian practices and embrace a more democratic life. Contrary to what the Chinese administration thinks, a stronger democracy will lead to more productivity, efficiency and creativity. 

For this reason, China need not be afraid of freedoms, and, on the contrary, should see democracy as an opportunity for further development. 

This will help eliminate the tension in the whole world and the kind and hardworking people of China will get the chance to interact with world nations. 

What needs to be steered clear of is not democracy and freedoms, but the cold spirit of communism.

Adnan Oktar's piece on The Jakarta Post:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/10/17/a-message-hong-kong.html